The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Podcast with Kevin Schaefer · SMA News Today

#131: Candis Welch, Disability Advocate and Ms. Wheelchair California

·49 min·3 clips

Candis Welch says she became an advocate because “I wanted to be what I didn’t have.”

1. The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Podcast with Kevin Schaefer focuses on Candis Welch’s life with SMA, her advocacy work, and her run as Ms. Wheelchair California. 2. Kevin Schaefer hosts the conversation and identifies himself as a columnist and forum director for SMA News Today, while Candis Welch appears as a DEI practitioner, founder of I Am Abled, and Ms. Wheelchair California. 3. The episode asks how a childhood with SMA, bullying, and isolation became a path to advocacy, DEI, and disability leadership. 4. Welch says she was born in 1985, when there were few medical advances and people were still learning what SMA was. 5. She credits her parents for advocating with doctors and making sure she still had birthdays, Disneyland trips, and time with cousins. 6. Welch says elementary school and junior high brought severe bullying because of her SMA gait, which she compares to a penguin walk. 7. She says MDA summer camp in Big Bear changed her life by putting her around people who looked like her and understood her needs. 8. At camp, she recalls horseback riding, canoeing, arts and crafts, and being able to feel “normal” for one week each year. 9. Welch says those camp friendships continued for years and created a network she still values today. 10. She says from about 17 to 33 she lost that close-knit SMA community while moving through college, internships, and the entertainment industry. 11. Welch says she worked around able-bodied people in LA County, red-carpet internships, Sony, and HBO, where she often felt different and had to overcompensate. 12. She says that period created shame and a feeling that she had to prove she belonged in every room. 13. Welch says she returned to disability advocacy because she missed community and wanted to come back “home.” 14. She says discovering a DEI department at LA County gave her a way to combine advocacy, justice, government, and public policy. 15. Welch says she added accessibility to DEI because she has lived experience as a disabled Black woman and wanted to represent that intersection clearly. 16. She says I Am Able was built to help others move from childhood resources into adult life with practical support, mentorship, and accountability. 17. Welch says she wants to be a resource rather than just “inspiring,” because resources last longer than praise. 18. She says her adult life has included moving out at 18, returning home twice to reset, hiring caregivers, and spending about $2,000 a month on care. 19. The interview is candid, conversational, and direct, with Welch using detailed personal examples and Kevin Schaefer responding with follow-up questions and affirmation. 20. People interested in SMA, disability advocacy, caregivers, and independent living will get the most from this episode. key_takeaway

As heard by us

A candid disability story about independence, work, and public life.

Candice Welch's story gives the episode its shape. She talks about living with SMA through the ordinary work of independence, from growing up before today's support tools to moving out at 18, building a life in Los Angeles, and pressing through fashion school and entertainment…

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Why you'd press play

You want a candid look at SMA, independence, and showing up in rooms that doubt you.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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